your preachin to the choir dood, id love to include hartford in that group but they dont draw no mater where they go.

funny tho, all the american cities that lost teams got new ones, colorado, atlanta, minnesota, yet the 6 canadian teams are the ones putting all the money into revenue sharing to keep teams in places like pittsburgh, nashville and carolina.

i still think we (canadians) should take our cup tell you americans to go **** yourself and find your own trophy to play for.

Sports Network) - The turnstile that is the Avalanche's active roster continues to turn. Though down two players, Colorado will have Peter Forsberg on the ice tonight as they host the Vancouver Canucks at the Pepsi Center.

Forsberg participated in his first full-team practice on Monday since signing a one-year contract last Monday to play with Colorado through the rest of this season.

The 34-year-old Forsberg spent the first nine years of his career with the Quebec/Colorado franchise, and is fourth on the club's all-time scoring list with 741 points on 216 goals and 525 assists. He split last season with Philadelphia and Nashville and has been plagued by foot and ankle problems over the last few years.

He has yet to play in a game this season.

Forsberg's return will help compensate for the losses of Ryan Smyth and Marek Svatos, who were both injured in Saturday's 5-2 victory over Los Angeles.

your preachin to the choir dood, id love to include hartford in that group but they dont draw no mater where they go.

funny tho, all the american cities that lost teams got new ones, colorado, atlanta, minnesota, yet the 6 canadian teams are the ones putting all the money into revenue sharing to keep teams in places like pittsburgh, nashville and carolina.

i still think we (canadians) should take our cup tell you americans to go **** yourself and find your own trophy to play for.

Without the U.S. the NHL wouldn't exist...be careful for what you wish for. I can imagine what it was like in Canada during the lockout..i lived in Alberta for 3 years!! (Lethbridge/Airdrie)

Win streak five, deficit in division point after Theodore's shutout
By Rick Sadowski, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Originally published 09:23 p.m., March 6, 2008
Updated 02:43 a.m., March 7, 2008
Avalanche goalie Jose Theodore gets in position to stop a shot by Anaheim's Teemu Selanne during the second period of Thursday's game at the Pepsi Center. Theodore recorded a shutout as Colorado beat the Ducks 1-0.

Avalanche goalie Jose Theodore gets in position to stop a shot by Anaheim's Teemu Selanne during the second period of Thursday's game at the Pepsi Center. Theodore recorded a shutout as Colorado beat the Ducks 1-0.
More Avalanche/NHL

Jose Theodore got his groove back a while ago. Wojtek Wolski is hopeful his returned Thursday night.

Theodore continued his resurgence with a perfect 27-save performance Thursday night at the Pepsi Center and Wolski scored his first goal in six weeks in the Avalanche's 1-0 victory against the Anaheim Ducks.

"I think he needed a goal," said coach Joel Quenneville, who reminded reporters that defenseman John-Michael Liles broke a 49-game drought with the winning goal Tuesday against Vancouver. "Those are two guys whose goals have to make them feel comfortable in the course of a game."

With five consecutive wins, the Avalanche has pulled one point behind first-place Minnesota in the Northwest Division with 14 games left in the regular season.

Thursday's win was especially sweet because the Avalanche lost all three previous games to the defending Stanley Cup champions by one goal, one in overtime and one in a shootout.

"Every time you play the Ducks, you know you're not going to get too many goals because they're such a good hockey team," said Theodore, who posted his second shutout of the season and the 25th of his career.

He has won five games in a row for the first time since March 2004 with the Montreal Canadiens.

Theodore had to be sharp from the start, as he made a right-pad save against Ducks forward Corey Perry on a breakaway early in the first period.

"To get a shutout, you need luck and the guys played so well," he said. "When you're only up by one goal, you don't really think about the shutout. It feels good, obviously, as a team effort because we did play really well, but it's the two points I care about.

"I don't want to get carried away. We've got to turn the page quick. We haven't achieved anything yet. We're still in a tight race."

Theodore has started 13 of the Avalanche's past 14 games and allowed two goals or fewer in 10 of them. He has posted a 1.37 goals-against average and .950 save percentage during the five-game streak.

Wolski was in a different kind of streak - 14 games without a goal - when he accepted a cross-ice pass from Andrew Brunette and shot the puck between Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller's pads at 11:59 of the second period.

The second-year left wing was excited, to say the least, as he pumped his fist after collecting his first goal since Jan. 24 against Minnesota.

"That's about the longest stretch I've ever had in my career - NHL, junior," said Wolski, who was a healthy scratch for three of the previous six games and made his way back into the lineup Tuesday, three days after Ryan Smyth and Marek Svatos went down with injuries. "When you get a goal, it's exciting. When it's a game-winning goal, it's even better."

Wolski, who is playing on a line with Brunette and Paul Stastny, had 10 assists during his goal-scoring slump, but Quenneville was looking for a better all-around game.

"You have to contribute in other ways and I wasn't at the time," Wolski said. "I think, because I'm a young guy, the coaches and the staff wanted to make sure that they were getting their point across and making sure that I was working a little harder. It was a lesson learned."

Brunette was almost as happy as Wolski when that puck went in.

"Maybe he can take this and run with it," he said.

Peter Forsberg drew one of the Ducks' four first-period penalties when he was slashed on the wrist by Perry. He left the bench area for a few minutes and missed a shift.

"It's OK," Forsberg said. "It was my skate, actually, it wasn't my wrist. I just lost an edge there, so it was no problem."

ETC.: Forsberg played 21:51 with one shot on goal and several nifty passes in his second game since rejoining the Avalanche. "The first period I was a little tired," he said. "I definitely felt the last game since I hadn't played in a while. But the longer the game went on, I thought the line played better and I played better, too. Hopefully, the points and the goals will come soon, but it's great to be back just to be a part of the team and winning games." . . . Perry left the game midway through the third period with a lacerated leg.

NUMBERS GAME

5 -game winning streak for the Avalanche, its longest since a similar streak Feb. 27 to March 7 last season.

BRUNETTE NOMINATED

Forward Andrew Brunette has been nominated for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy by the Colorado chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. The award is given to the NHL player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

Brunette, 34, played in his 439th consecutive game Thursday, the longest active streak in the league. It began Jan. 2, 2002, when he was a member of the Minnesota Wild. He has 14 goals and 31 assists in 68 games and is the kind of unsung player who is valuable to any team.

Masterton, who played at the University of Denver, died after suffering a head injury in a 1968 game while playing for the Minnesota North Stars.

FINGER RETURNS

Defenseman Jeff Finger, who missed the previous six games with a hand injury, replaced Jordan Leopold in the lineup. The Avalanche has eight healthy defenSeimian, so coach Joel Quenneville will have some tough decisions to make the rest of the way.

"(Finger) really gives you a dimension back there that we appreciate," Quenneville said. "I think our defense has been more physical since the (trading) deadline. You put one more physical guy back there in 'Fingie' and it's a little more challenging for the opposition. Offensively, he's probably a little underrated, but he's been very consistent and deserves to play."

HE SAID IT

"It's always fun to get a shutout, but it's the win that's really good."

Without the U.S. the NHL wouldn't exist...be careful for what you wish for. I can imagine what it was like in Canada during the lockout..i lived in Alberta for 3 years!! (Lethbridge/Airdrie)

wrong

the nhl would exist, and it would be real hockey not this pussified crap that betman is tryin to sell to the hillbillies, go back to the days of 21 teams, heck even 24, 6 easy teams to fold, go figure they are all low attendence, mostly southern us teams Phoenix, florida, nashville, carolina, atlanta, and one of the kings, ducks or sharks, cuz no way should california have 3 teams. when the ducks can win the stanely cup and only have 15,000 show up to the parade it shows just how little they care about the sport. Now those 6 are folded, move jersey and pittsburgh to canada, cuz neither of those markets can support a team as proven by the fact that pittsburgh has gone bankrupt 3 times already and the fact that jersey even with a new arena still dosent sell out. Put st louis and the islanders on notice that if they dont do something theyre next to be folded or moved.

so we now have 4 divisions with 6 teams each, shootouts gone, instigator gone, any stick penalty is 5 minute, (highsticking, slashing) all plastics in pads are banned, gotta protect the players, Nets are like lacross nets, triangular in shape but not as deep, making it easier to do wraparounds.

the nhl would exist, and it would be real hockey not this pussified crap that betman is tryin to sell to the hillbillies, go back to the days of 21 teams, heck even 24, 6 easy teams to fold, go figure they are all low attendence, mostly southern us teams Phoenix, florida, nashville, carolina, atlanta, and one of the kings, ducks or sharks, cuz no way should california have 3 teams. when the ducks can win the stanely cup and only have 15,000 show up to the parade it shows just how little they care about the sport. Now those 6 are folded, move jersey and pittsburgh to canada, cuz neither of those markets can support a team as proven by the fact that pittsburgh has gone bankrupt 3 times already and the fact that jersey even with a new arena still dosent sell out. Put st louis and the islanders on notice that if they dont do something theyre next to be folded or moved.

so we now have 4 divisions with 6 teams each, shootouts gone, instigator gone, any stick penalty is 5 minute, (highsticking, slashing) all plastics in pads are banned, gotta protect the players, Nets are like lacross nets, triangular in shape but not as deep, making it easier to do wraparounds.

im sure ive missed soemthing, but thats a good start

I'm not gonna argue with you, you guys live and die by hockey (not a bad thing) so i wont argue..but the reason a lot of teams in the U.S. have low attendance is because they're competing with other sports like the NFL, MLB, and NBA..Canada doesn't so when a team isn't doing so well in the States its no surprise, fans just watch the other home team like LA, the kings suck so they watch the Lakers...who else does Calgary or Edmonton or Vancouver etc. have to watch if there not doing so well...no one, so people go to the games anyways cause there isn't anyone else to root for..if Calgary had an NBA team and they were good and the Flames sucked i bet the NBA team would have a higher attendance rate..maybe, hockey is religon up there!!

His groin was sore not pulled..big difference..no surprise either really, what can you expect when you don't play in live action for almost a year..its gonna be a little sore..he'll be back in the next game or two..so far its looking like the Avs made the right move..without him, we don't win that Dallas game on Saturday (which i was at). Finominal the way he makes plays happen...lures the D in and then makes them pay with a tape to tape pass!!

I'm not gonna argue with you, you guys live and die by hockey (not a bad thing) so i wont argue..but the reason a lot of teams in the U.S. have low attendance is because they're competing with other sports like the NFL, MLB, and NBA..Canada doesn't so when a team isn't doing so well in the States its no surprise, fans just watch the other home team like LA, the kings suck so they watch the Lakers...who else does Calgary or Edmonton or Vancouver etc. have to watch if there not doing so well...no one, so people go to the games anyways cause there isn't anyone else to root for..if Calgary had an NBA team and they were good and the Flames sucked i bet the NBA team would have a higher attendance rate..maybe, hockey is religon up there!!

Hockey is the Nascar of Canada. BTW if you are insinuating that LA has poor attendance. You'd be wrong. It was mentioned in an article not too long ago that the Kings get 16,000 seats filled on average this year.

Chadta is right about Anaheim, they don't have much of a hard-core following and the barbecue they had to celebrate their Cup win was pathetic. 15,000 people didn't show up Chadta, they didn't even have a ****ing parade.

Now if LA won the cup, it would be different because the Kings have been around in LA for 40 years. You'll all see in a few years...

Worse game played thus far Q clearly didn't have these guys ready (again)

Nonsense. The game against Detroit a couple of weeks ago was pathetic. The Avs game out sluggish...not moving their feet, and they got pounced by a reeling Stars team. Leopold had to leave after being charged by Ott. (It's illegal to leave your feet when checking). Then when Salei went to confront Ott he got head butted (unintentional) by the crown of Ott's helmet. Altitude zoomed in on it, and you could Ruslan was hurt before Ott threw a punch. But after getting down early...they continued to try.

Just another reason why it's stupid to sit Parker. Although Cody McCormick is more than capable of handling Steve Ott (He didn't). Q can go **** himself for sitting Parker. He's every bit as productive as Hlinka.

Yeah...I was disappointed the Avs let that slide. I was waiting the whole game for Lappy, or McCormick to **** him up. Scott Parker in the lineup quells these things. The Avs' record with him in the lineup is sick.

but the reason a lot of teams in the U.S. have low attendance is because they're competing with other sports like the NFL, MLB, and NBA..Canada doesn't

ok pittsburgh, yes they have nfl but after january for the last 5 years what the heck has everybody been doing, cuz it sure wasnt going to the games ?

nashville same thing ?

oh and for the record toronto has a nba team, and they do just as well as the leafs, and we all know how bad the leafs have been for a long time.

it just bugs me when things are done to save teams and keep teams in places that could honestly care less about them, yet things are done to prevent a team being put where the fans have a general passion for the game, the game is being changed to try and get new fans in and its alienating the old fans.

see champ i told ya not to get me going, oh and for the record i never singled out LA, i merely pointed out that one of the teams had to go. end rant peace out.

Nonsense. The game against Detroit a couple of weeks ago was pathetic. The Avs game out sluggish...not moving their feet, and they got pounced by a reeling Stars team. Leopold had to leave after being charged by Ott. (It's illegal to leave your feet when checking). Then when Salei went to confront Ott he got head butted (unintentional) by the crown of Ott's helmet. Altitude zoomed in on it, and you could Ruslan was hurt before Ott threw a punch. But after getting down early...they continued to try.

Just another reason why it's stupid to sit Parker. Although Cody McCormick is more than capable of handling Steve Ott (He didn't). Q can go **** himself for sitting Parker. He's every bit as productive as Hlinka.

The game vs the wings we were simply outclassed in every facet of the game by a much better team but throwing stupid passes through the neutral only to turn the puck over just about every rush vs dallas was stupid we took 1 shot on net in the first don't even get me started on faceoffs.

Hey, we actually scored some goals tonight. Looks more and more like it's going to be photo finish in the division this year, with the difference between the #3 seed and missing the playoffs being very thin.

I saw Salei didn't play. Any word on the how serious his eye injury is?

\
see champ i told ya not to get me going, oh and for the record i never singled out LA, i merely pointed out that one of the teams had to go. end rant peace out.

What can I say, I know what makes a Canadian tick.

At any rate, I didn't like the expansion everywhere either. My reasons were quite different though. I didn't want to see a huge expansion with New Arenas propped up all over the US because then it would make it impossible to change the NHL rules into using International sized rinks. I mean if anyone has seen an international game, they would know that the game is much better to watch than with a smaller rink.